The Book
by kelloell
Summary: This is a combination of 24 and one of the greatest movies ever made. I know the title is pretty stupid, but I don't want to give anything away. Please R&R.


_**The Book**_

_This story is a combination of my favorite TV show and one of my favorite movies of all time. I was watching it the other night and this suddenly popped into my head and I just had to write it down. Please R&R!!! Oh yeah, I know the title sucks, but I don't want to give the story away._

Disclaimer: I own abso-posi-lutely nothing of importance and nothing that is mentioned or referenced to in this story.

A young boy lay on his bed, playing a mindless video game on the small television set that was standing before him. He was courageously braving a terrible stomach ache that was so terrible he felt he'd retch any minute. His headache was so painful that he could barely think. His cough was so bad that it hurt to swallow and to speak for long periods of time. Well, that's what he had told his mother. To prove a point, he had faked a terrible coughing spell, but his mother was still doubtful. Yet he had convinced her to take his temperature, and using the light next to his bed when she had went to check on his newborn sister, he prevailed against the terrible tyranny that was school.

In reality, he had a history test today at school, and he hadn't studied. Instead, last night he had watched the Cubs lose once more, this time to the Red Sox. When he woke up in the morning, he remembered and figured that he hadn't had a mental health day in at least three weeks. But now, he had the whole day ahead of him, where his only plan was to do absolutely nothing, his favorite pastime. That was until his mother came in, as usual spoiling his plans for the day.

"Hi, honey," his mother said.

"Hi, mom," Tony Almeida said, trying his best to sound ill. He winced as she kissed him on the forehead.

"Are you feeling any better?"

"A little bit," he replied, preparing to lapse into a fit of coughs just as she turned away to leave.

"Guess what?"

"What?" Tony replied, trying to make his voice sound hoarse, hoping that there was a slim chance that she'd bought him that Cubs t-shirt he'd admired for twenty minutes at the mall the other day.

"Your grandfather's here."

Inwardly, he groaned. He'd probably be treated to another long, dull story about how when his grandfather was a boy, he had to walk ten miles to school in the pouring rain or in three feet of snow and how he didn't have a TV or a newfangled game system like the one he was playing right now. "Mom, can't you tell him I'm sick?

She smiled knowingly and said, "Your sick? That's why he's here!"

In desperation, completely forgetting to sound sick, he whined, "He'll pinch my cheek. I hate that!"

Consolingly, his mother said, "Maybe he won't." Yeah. As if.

Just then his grandfather walked in, calling out to Tony, "Hey! How's the sickie, eh?" He reached the bedside and leaned over to pinch Tony's cheek. Tony glared at his mother and she just shot him a look telling him to behave.

"I think I'll leave you two pals alone," she said, and quickly left the room.

So much for the coughing fit.

His grandfather then said some words that caught his attention. "I brought you a special present." He revealed, from his coat pocket, a rectangular package wrapped in gold foil.

Tony asked eagerly, "What is it?"

"Open it up," his grandfather said mysteriously. Tony didn't need to be told twice.

He tried to cover his immediate disappointment when he realized what the package was. "A book?" he asked, realizing too late how disgusted he'd sounded. When he'd grown older, Tony had come to love to read in his spare time, when he had any, but as a young boy, books meant reading, and reading meant school, and school meant obnoxious boys who had pushed him around and teased him every day since kindergarten.

"That's right. When I was your age, television was called books." Oh no, not again... "And this is a special book. It's the book my father used to read to me when I was sick, and I used to read it to your father. And today, I'm gonna read it to you." Perfect. His plans of doing nothing smashed to oblivion like when he destroyed an enemy spaceship in a video game.

But then Tony began to reason that maybe it wouldn't be too bad. Maybe it'd be about the Cubs, or the Bears, or at least about sports somehow.Yet he knew his grandfather well enough to ask, otherwise he wouldn't tell him. "Has it got any sports in it?"

"Are you kidding?" Tony got his hopes up. "Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles." His hopes dropped slightly. Some of it sounded okay, but c'mon... true love? Since when was _that_ a sport?

"Doesn't sound too bad. I'll try and stay awake."

His grandfather sarcastically replied back, "Oh, well thank you very much. Very nice of you. You're vote of confidence is overwhelming. All right." He began to read.

Now, thirty-eight years old with a supposedly sick son of his own, he kissed Michelle briefly before opening the door. He sat down on the chair next to Matthew's bed and watched in silence for a few moments as a strange boy in a weird green suit and hat that Matt was apparently controlling destroyed multiple pots in a room and collect all of the diamonds that spilled out.

"Hey," he said finally.

Matt glanced briefly at him, then turned back to his game. "What's up?" Tony almost chuckled out loud at the similarities between Matt and him when he was around the same age.

"I brought you a special present." He pulled the familiar square package wrapped in red and green paper left over from Christmas.

At this, Matt immediately threw his controller down and ripped the package open. In the same dejected tone that Tony remembered so well from his childhood, Matt asked, "A book?"

"Yup. And you're gonna love it. Trust me."

Matt glared at him dubiously. "Is it about sports or something?" At this, Tony couldn't help but start to laugh, and Matt glared at him again. "What?"

"It's nothing. But yeah, there are definitely sports in it."

"Like what?"

"Fencing, torture, revenge, fighting, escapes, chases, true love, miracles, y'know, that sort of thing."

"Wow. It sounds _so_ interesting."

"Just give it a shot, kay?

"Whatever."

Tony rolled his eyes and started to read. "The Princess Bride, by S. Morgenstern, chapter one..."

_Please R&R! I want to know what you think. When I was watching The Princess Bride, I saw the little kid and I realized that he looked exactly like Tony might have. If you haven't seen this movie, then you really should, because it is one of the best. Also, did anyone catch my reference to Zelda?_


End file.
